All My Children Commentary

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The Best and Worst of All My Children 2013:
We've come to the end of another year, and once again we're saying goodbye to All My Children. This week we take one last look back at the things t... Read the column now...

JR is a very tortured soul and spinning out of control after hearing the confirmation that his wife did sleep with Josh Madden. All the clues were there, everyone felt compelled to tell him about the affair, but the junior Chandler preferred to trust and believe in Babe. Thus, when the realization set in, he handled the news like any male Chandler….set out for revenge. Run out on your family, your son included, and head for the source of your pain. Somehow he is able to gain entry to Josh’s hotel suite and wait for his return. Meanwhile, he partakes of the liquor in the mini-bar and proceeds to get smashed. By time Bianca arrives to see her brother, he is visibly drunk. Then the confrontation begins.

I am not a big fan of this ongoing saga between JR and Babe, if the writers would have let them be happy for more than five minutes, maybe. It has been a roller coaster ever since they reconciled and a lot of game playing, intentional or not. Not always that fun to watch when there is so much anger, name calling, and drama. Yet, the one saving grace is Jacob Young’s extraordinary acting. He blew me away in the scene with Babe, but went over the top with the Bianca ones. He had the most amazing expressions, body language; mood swings, and tears covering all the ranges. I was mesmerized and found myself actually enjoying this past week’s episodes, the first time in a very long time. I am sure it helps to have Bianca back too as the more talent you have on the canvas, the better it flows. There were some great lines and dialogue. Who would have ever guessed JR would hit bottom and jump out French doors at four stories up? It is atypical of an alcoholic to run the gamut and be in denial. Blame everyone else for your misfortune. His sisters, Hayley and Skye (who we later found out wasn’t a Chandler) had more reason to dive into the bottle with their childhoods and only knowing one parent. JR was raised by both parents most of the time and had the close bond with his mother and a decent relationship with his father. He had the benefit of growing up with Jamie and having a loving stepfather in Tad. Yet, when his mother disappeared and was thought to be dead, JR Chandler changed a lot. He started handling stress and life like his father, revenge and payback. So when he kept saying to Bianca someone has to pay, we knew he was playing that broken record in his head.

Josh had a real judgment call in deciding if he should give medical treatment to JR after finding him half-dead on the cement below his patio. I do like the way he has grown and is loyal to Babe. He is starting to realize how much Erica, Jeff, and his new sisters care about him and won’t give up on him. I sure don’t condone his relationship with Babe but his heart is in the right place when he is concerned for her safety and well-being. Of course it is wasted at the moment, as she doesn’t want to have anything to do with him and can only think of the “amazing life” she wants with JR. Her co-dependency and involvement in the disease of this addiction is really starting to show and she is overcome with guilt. Needless-to-say, the whole Kane/Martin/Chandler families were at the hospital ready to blame her for everything that happened. That was one busy ER with such a large gathering and plenty of punches thrown. I know we have mentioned in the past how crazy it is at Pine Valley Hospital, if it isn’t a rendezvous in the break room, cell phone use in the hallways, uninvited guests in the rooms, then it is shouting and punching in the waiting room. We also had Dr Hayward eavesdropping on various conversations and you could see the wheels turning in his mind. What does he have planned? How will they write him out? I am not sure I am ready for that, but it isn’t far away.

JR is in surgery barely hanging on. Jamie confronts Julia about his true feelings for her, which was very sweet. Jack has been standing vigil for Lily as Jonathan looks on. Brooke and Amanda visit too and my biggest chuckles were over comments Brooke made to Jack about Erica. Later when Jack asks Erica about coming back home, she does the not-quite-yet dance. Previously we witnessed Jeff and Erica almost kissing but getting interrupted by a sarcastic, vengeful Adam Chandler. Later Jeff admits he is still in love with Erica, the NEW Erica Kane. It is hard for me to swallow after watching all those years ago and knowing how he felt about his beloved Mary. She was a total opposite of the glamorous, multi-married Erica. She was a caring nurse, good wife and homebody. Just very difficult to believe Jeff would once again be attracted to Erica even after all the changes and history. The hard part for me is I like both characters, Jack and Jeff. I like both actors portraying them, so how can you choose the right one for Erica? Jackson Montgomery has always been the perfect match for her and I think eventually she will realize that. She doesn’t want an affair, she admits she is a married woman, she has the love and loyalty to Jack and their blended family, but something is pulling her away from the home front.

Annie consented to having the DNA test done for Emma but now is wondering if Tad really could be the father. If she truly is the mother, then I doubt Tad is the sperm donor. Ryan even felt that was out of character for him. BUT you notice that Ryan brings up about the days he did it to make a buck. That’s how Kendall got Spike by default from Greenlee, so does this mean Ryan will turn out to be the biological father? They do make an interesting couple sharing parenthood and a living arrangement. Meanwhile, Tad is playing table games with Zach at the casino and they talk about how hard it is to wait for the results and what will happen if Tad and Dixie are the parents and this is Kate not Emma? I liked seeing Di and Dixie having a sister moment, there was just so many scenes and new direction with characters and stories that it continued to amaze me. I stayed interested and didn’t feel the urge to fast forward. Except maybe for the Colby scenes, but that’s been ongoing. One fan shared her concern over Dixie breaking her promise to Tad by telling Di that he was Greg Madden’s murderer. No one seems to keep secret or honor confidentiality. Josh couldn’t keep his either to Babe by not telling JR about their affair. This bothered me too.

Kendall and Zach are happy and being a real family. They are planning a new home as he freaked out a bit when he saw the house Kendall chose for them. It seems it reminded him of his unhappy childhood. It doesn’t look like JR and Babe will be moving in by default either. Bianca shared with her sister that she feels she was weak by not fighting for Maggie. Instead she ran back home. It really is a shame they aren’t having Maggie return to play out this chapter, imagine seeing Jonathan again, and visiting David and Jamie. She does have a bit of history in Pine Valley and it would be nice to see this love story up close and personal. Krystal and Adam were cooing and happy for a minute or two and named their baby daughter-to-be, Charlotte, after Adam’s sister, Lottie. Then Adam being Adam, went on his rampage and pushed his wife too far by threatening Babe. She proceeded to tell him that he would not get Little A if their children break up and that goes for their baby daughter too. He, of course, calls his faithful attorney to put him on alert. SOMEONE HAS TO PAY, but if the Silver Fox isn’t careful, it could be him. There is still the possibility Thaddeus Martin is the baby’s father!!!!

I received so much mail on the discontent and unhappiness of fans over what AMC is doing with the various stories and characters. Naturally lots about losing Brooke and David. I could write a whole other column just on what all of you loyal viewers had to say. You all were quite verbal and with good reason. Thanks for sharing your rants and great comments. I am sure you have figured out by now that all three of us Two Scoopers are not happy campers over these decisions by TPTB. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do about it but hope and pray good will prevail and AMC will not go down the tubes in the months ahead.

It has been a real pleasure being back for the past two weeks to cover for Mary and Kristine. I can’t wait to hear about their vacations and continued thoughts on what has been going on with the soap. I will be back again when they need me to cover and I wish you all the happiest of holidays ahead and best regards always,

Two Scoops is an opinion column. The views expressed are not designed to be indicative of the opinions of soapcentral.com or its advertisers. The Two Scoops section allows our Scoop staff to discuss what might happen, what has happened, and to take a look at the logistics of it all. They stand by their opinions and do not expect others to share the same view point.